It is easy to come home to a hot dinner every night when you use your crockpot. Taking the time to fill up the crockpot in the morning will reward you with a delicious meal in the evening with no fuss. When you get home, just dish everyone up, and have a wonderful meal.
Easy Crockpot Tips
There are a few things to remember when using a crockpot that will make your meals turn out perfectly. The most important one is do not overfill the pot. Never fill it more than three-quarters full. If you fill it all the way to the top, it will not cook properly. At the same time, do not fill it less than half full. By not filling it enough, your food will cook faster than you anticipate and you will come home to food that is overdone.
If you cook with fresh vegetables, be sure to put them on the bottom, beneath your meat. Surprisingly, they take longer, so if they are closer to the heat source your food will cook at the same rate. Frozen vegetables should be placed on top of your meat, since they need less time to cook.
Browning your meat before putting it in the crockpot helps render any fat on the meat and caramelizes the natural sugars in the meat. The meat will look more appetizing, and if you deglaze the pan and add the drippings, all that flavor will be added to your meal. Removing skin and extra fat will help as well.
Tender ingredients like tomatoes, mushrooms, and dairy products should be added the last 30 to 45 minutes of cooking. Make sure the temperature is on low for dairy products to keep them from curdling. If you are adding thickeners like cornstarch, it should be added in the last hour with the temperature on high to activate their thickening qualities. Rice and pasta should be added during the last 45 minutes so they do not get too mushy.
While cooking, try not to remove the lid. If you need to add more ingredients, add them all at once if possible to reduce losing heat from the crockpot. Every time you lift the lid, add another half hour to your cooking time.
Meals You Can Make in the Crockpot
These easy tips can help make your crockpot useful and versatile. You can make almost anything in the crockpot. Pulled pork with barbecue sauce is easy in the crockpot, as is Asian chicken. Stew and chili are old standbys for the crockpot, as is chicken soup. Vegetable dishes like creamed corn with cream cheese is delicious for a side dish.
Amazingly, you can even bake in your crockpot! Desserts like cakes, sweet breads, and boiled peanuts can be made easily without using your oven. The versatile crockpot is a tool everyone should have in his or her kitchen.
Easy Crockpot Tips
There are a few things to remember when using a crockpot that will make your meals turn out perfectly. The most important one is do not overfill the pot. Never fill it more than three-quarters full. If you fill it all the way to the top, it will not cook properly. At the same time, do not fill it less than half full. By not filling it enough, your food will cook faster than you anticipate and you will come home to food that is overdone.
If you cook with fresh vegetables, be sure to put them on the bottom, beneath your meat. Surprisingly, they take longer, so if they are closer to the heat source your food will cook at the same rate. Frozen vegetables should be placed on top of your meat, since they need less time to cook.
Browning your meat before putting it in the crockpot helps render any fat on the meat and caramelizes the natural sugars in the meat. The meat will look more appetizing, and if you deglaze the pan and add the drippings, all that flavor will be added to your meal. Removing skin and extra fat will help as well.
Tender ingredients like tomatoes, mushrooms, and dairy products should be added the last 30 to 45 minutes of cooking. Make sure the temperature is on low for dairy products to keep them from curdling. If you are adding thickeners like cornstarch, it should be added in the last hour with the temperature on high to activate their thickening qualities. Rice and pasta should be added during the last 45 minutes so they do not get too mushy.
While cooking, try not to remove the lid. If you need to add more ingredients, add them all at once if possible to reduce losing heat from the crockpot. Every time you lift the lid, add another half hour to your cooking time.
Meals You Can Make in the Crockpot
These easy tips can help make your crockpot useful and versatile. You can make almost anything in the crockpot. Pulled pork with barbecue sauce is easy in the crockpot, as is Asian chicken. Stew and chili are old standbys for the crockpot, as is chicken soup. Vegetable dishes like creamed corn with cream cheese is delicious for a side dish.
Amazingly, you can even bake in your crockpot! Desserts like cakes, sweet breads, and boiled peanuts can be made easily without using your oven. The versatile crockpot is a tool everyone should have in his or her kitchen.
About the Author:
Whether your looking for soup recipes or for chicken stew we cover chicken and soup with great recipes and helpful information. Becoming a wonderful soup cook is easy when you have the right information.
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